U.S. patent application number 15/157434 was filed with the patent office on 2016-11-24 for cable connector assembly having improved led structure for indication.
The applicant listed for this patent is FOXCONN INTERCONNECT TECHNOLOGY LIMITED. Invention is credited to JUN CHEN, XIAO FAN, JERRY WU, ZHI-YONG ZHOU.
Application Number | 20160344145 15/157434 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57325723 |
Filed Date | 2016-11-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160344145 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ZHOU; ZHI-YONG ; et
al. |
November 24, 2016 |
CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY HAVING IMPROVED LED STRUCTURE FOR
INDICATION
Abstract
A cable connector assembly comprises a cable and an electrical
connector electrically connected with the cable, the electrical
connector includes a mating member, a PCB connected with the mating
member, a metal shell enclosing the PCB, and an outer case covering
the metal shell, the PCB includes a front end, a rear end and a
middle portion connecting with the front end and the rear end;
wherein the light emitting element is mounted on the middle portion
of the PCB, the metal shell includes a front portion, a rear
portion, and a connecting portion connecting the front portion and
the rear portion, the connecting portion defines a groove, a
distance between a bottom of the groove and the PCB is equal to or
smaller than a height of the light emitting element, and the outer
case has a light-transmissive portion to pass light emitted by the
light emitting element.
Inventors: |
ZHOU; ZHI-YONG; (Kunshan,
CN) ; FAN; XIAO; (Kunshan, CN) ; CHEN;
JUN; (Kunshan, CN) ; WU; JERRY; (Irvine,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FOXCONN INTERCONNECT TECHNOLOGY LIMITED |
Grand Cayman |
|
KY |
|
|
Family ID: |
57325723 |
Appl. No.: |
15/157434 |
Filed: |
May 18, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 13/7172 20130101;
H01R 13/6581 20130101; H01R 24/60 20130101; H01R 13/6658 20130101;
H01R 13/7175 20130101; H01R 2107/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01R 13/717 20060101
H01R013/717; H01R 24/64 20060101 H01R024/64; H01R 13/6581 20060101
H01R013/6581 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 18, 2015 |
CN |
201510251469.7 |
Claims
1. A cable connector assembly comprising: a cable; and an
electrical connector electrically connected with the cable, the
electrical connector including a mating member, a printed circuit
board (PCB) electrically connected with the mating member, a light
emitting element mounted on the PCB, a metal shell enclosing the
PCB, and an outer case covering the metal shell, the PCB including
a front end, an opposite rear end, and a middle portion connecting
with the front end and the rear end; wherein the metal shell
includes a front portion, a rear portion, and a connecting portion
connecting the front portion and the rear portion, the connecting
portion defines a groove connecting the front portion and the rear
portion, a distance between a bottom of the groove and the PCB is
equal to or smaller than a height of the light emitting element,
and the outer case has a light-transmissive portion to pass light
emitted by the light emitting element.
2. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
length of the connecting portion along an inserting direction is
equal to or greater than a length of the light emitting element
along an inserting direction.
3. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
PCB includes a top surface and an opposite bottom surface, and
there are provided plural light emitting elements mounted to both
the top and the bottom surfaces.
4. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein each
of the top surface and the bottom surface is disposed a pair of
light emitting elements.
5. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the
light emitting elements on the top surface and the light emitting
elements on the bottom surface are disposed symmetrically.
6. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein both
sides of the PCB are inwardly recessed to form a respective
depression portion to assist in distributing the light emitted by
corresponding light emitting elements uniformly.
7. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
depression portion is U-shaped, and the periphery of the light
emitting element is aligned with a bottom edge of the U-shaped
depression portion.
8. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the
connecting portion is disposed between the pair of light emitting
elements.
9. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
outer case defines two opaque regions on both sides of the
light-transmissive region, respectively.
10. A cable connector assembly comprising: a printed circuit board
defining two opposite surfaces in a vertical direction; a mating
member electrically and mechanically connected to a front region of
the printed circuit board along a front-to-back direction
perpendicular to said vertical direction; a cable enclosing a
plurality of wires mechanically and electrically connected to a
rear region of the printed circuit board along said front-to-back
direction; at least one light emitting element mounted upon one of
said two opposite surfaces; a metallic shell circumferentially
enclosing said printed circuit board and including a front portion
and a rear portion connected with each other by a middle connecting
portion which is essentially located in a gap between said front
portion and said rear portion in said front-to-back direction; and
an insulative outer case enclosing the metallic shell with a ring
type light transmissive region aligned with the gap in the vertical
direction; wherein the connecting portion is offset from the light
emitting element in a transverse direction perpendicular to both
said vertical direction and said front-to-back direction, and
further defines a groove structure inwardly recessed toward the
printed circuit board so as to allow light emitted from the light
emitting element to efficiently spread above the groove structure
for maximizing transmitting the light toward the light transmissive
region without blocking by said connecting portion.
11. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein
said groove structure is viewed in the transverse direction.
12. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein
along the front-to-back direction, the gap defines a dimension
which is smaller than another dimension defined by the light
emitting element.
13. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein
along the transverse direction, a dimension of said connecting
portion is not more than one half of the printed circuit board.
14. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein
said gap is circumferential to fully radially outwardly confronting
the whole ring type light transmissive region.
15. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein a
bottom of the groove structure is closer to but not contacting said
one of the two opposite surfaces of the printed circuit board.
16. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein
the printed circuit board defines a notch in a lateral side edge,
and the light emitting element is located intimately beside said
notch.
17. A cable connector assembly comprising: a printed circuit board
defining two opposite surfaces in a vertical direction; a mating
member electrically and mechanically connected to a front region of
the printed circuit board along a front-to-back direction
perpendicular to said vertical direction; a cable enclosing a
plurality of wires mechanically and electrically connected to a
rear region of the printed circuit board along said front-to-back
direction; at least one light emitting element mounted upon one of
said two opposite surfaces; a metallic shell circumferentially
enclosing said printed circuit board and including a front portion
and a rear portion connected with each other by a middle connecting
portion which is essentially located in a circumferential gap
between said front portion and said rear portion in said
front-to-back direction; and an insulative outer case enclosing the
metallic shell with a ring type light transmissive region aligned
with the circumferential gap in the vertical direction; wherein
said circumferential gap radially outwardly confronting fully said
ring type light transmissive region for maximizing light
transmission.
18. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein
said connecting portion forms a groove structure inwardly recessed
toward the printed circuit board.
19. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 18, wherein a
bottom of said groove structure is not higher than a top face of
the light emitting element.
20. The cable connector assembly as claimed in claim 19, wherein
the bottom of the groove does not touch said one of the two
opposite surfaces of the printed circuit board.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a cable connector
assembly and more particularly to an improved light emitting diode
(LED) related structure thereof.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Arts
[0004] China Patent Application Publication No. 102761035A,
published on Oct. 31, 2012, shows a cable connector assembly
including a printed circuit board (PCB), an LED mounted on the PCB,
a light pipe disposed on a top side of the LED, and an outer case
enclosing the PCB. A protruding portion is defined on a top portion
of the LED. The light emitted by the LED passes through the outer
case from the protruding portion, to indicate the working
conditions of the cable connector assembly.
[0005] Although the light guide tube portion projecting to the
outer case, to form a light transmission area, however, the light
transmission area is too small to be observed easily.
[0006] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0308304,
published on Nov. 21, 2013, shows an electrical connector assembly
including a housing, a conductor, an electrical connector, a light
emitter, and a light guide. The light guide directs light from the
light emitter towards a surface of the connector.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 8,535,088, issued on Sep. 17, 2013, shows a
power cable assembly including a cable plug having a housing. The
housing includes an LED exit allowing light from an LED inside the
housing to escape and a light pipe for guiding light from the
LED.
[0008] An improved LED related structure in a cable connector
assembly is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide an improved
LED structure in a cable connector for improving the observed
effect and appearance.
[0010] To achieve the above-mentioned object, a cable connector
assembly comprises: a cable and an electrical connector
electrically connected with the cable, the electrical connector
including a mating member, a printed circuit board (PCB)
electrically connected with the mating member, a metal shell
enclosing the PCB, and an outer case covering the metal shell, the
PCB including a front end, a rear end opposite to the front end and
a middle portion connecting with the front end and the rear end;
wherein the light emitting element is mounted on the middle portion
of the PCB, the metal shell includes a front portion, a rear
portion, and a connecting portion connecting the front portion and
the rear portion, the connecting portion defines a groove
connecting the front portion and the rear portion, a distance
between a bottom of the groove and the PCB is equal to or smaller
than a height of the light emitting element, and the outer case has
a light-transmissive portion to pass light emitted by the light
emitting element.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cable connector assembly
in accordance with the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of the cable connector
assembly in FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a further partially exploded view of the cable
connector assembly in FIG. 2;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a further partially exploded view of the cable
connector assembly in FIG. 3;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a partially exploded view similar to the FIG. 4,
but from a different aspect;
[0016] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the cable connector assembly
in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 7 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 6, but from a
different aspect;
[0018] FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the mating member show in FIG.
1; and
[0019] FIG. 9 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 8, but from a
different aspect.
[0020] FIG. 10 is an sectional view of the cable connector assembly
in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, a cable connector assembly, e.g.,
a plug connector assembly 100, in accordance with the present
invention for mating with a mating connector (not shown), comprises
an electrical connector 200 and a cable 300 electrically connected
to the electrical connector 200. The electrical connector 200
includes a mating member 1, a printed circuit board 2 electrically
connected with the mating member 1 and disposed along a lateral
plane, a plurality of light emitting elements 4 mounted on the
printed circuit board 2, a fixing member 5 to fix the cable 300, a
metal case 6 enclosing the printed circuit board 2 and a part of
cable 300, a strain relief 7 enclosing a part of the metal shell 6,
and a metallic covering member or outer case 8 enclosing the metal
shell 6 and the strain relief 7. The plug connector assembly 100
can be mated with the mating connector in two orientations.
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the mating member 1 comprises an
insulative housing 11, a plurality of contacts 12 arranged in two
rows and spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction, a
latch 13 disposed between the two rows of contacts 12 for latching
with the mating connector, an insulative member 14 assembled on a
rear end of the insulative housing 11, a mating shell 15 covering
the insulative housing 11 and the insulative member 14, and a
grounding member 16 assembled on the insulative housing 11 and
electrically connected to the mating shell 15.
[0023] The insulative housing 11 comprises a top wall 110, a bottom
wall 111 spaced apart from and parallel with the top wall 110 in a
vertical direction, a pair of side walls 112 parallel to each other
and connecting with top wall 110 and the bottom wall 111, a
receiving room 113 surround by the top, bottom, and side walls 110,
111, 112, and the receiving room 113 is divided into a front
portion 1132 having a front opening 1131 and a rear portion 1134
having a rear opening 1133. The top wall 110 defines a top recess
1100 in communication with the front portion 1132. The bottom wall
111 defines a bottom recess 1110 in communication with the front
portion 1132. Each of the side walls 112 defines a side recess 1120
extending forwardly from a rear end of the insulative housing 11
but not through a front end of the insulative housing 11. The side
recesses 1120 are in communication with the front portion 1132 and
the rear portion 1134 of the receiving room 113. A plurality of
slots 114 are defined on a front end of the both top wall and the
bottom wall 111.
[0024] Each of the contacts 12 comprises, along a front-to-back
direction, a front mating portion 121 extending forwardly into the
insulative housing 11, a rear mating/mounting portion 122 extending
rearwardly, and an intermediate mounting portion 123 connected
between the front mating portion 121 and the rear mating portion
122 and secured to the insulative housing 11. The front mating
portion 121 is to be mated with the mating connector and the rear
mating portion 122 is to be electrically mated with the printed
circuit board 2. The front mating portions 121 of the two rows of
contacts 12 are arranged face to face along a vertical
direction.
[0025] The latch 13 comprises a base portion 131 extending along a
transverse direction, a pair of latch beams 132 respectively
extending forwardly from two opposite ends of the base portion 131,
a latch portion 133 extending from a front end of each latch beam
132 along a face to face direction, and a pair of extension arms
134 respectively extending rearwardly from the two opposite ends of
the base portion 131. An extension arm 134 on one side is in a
lower plane relative to a plane the base portion 131 located, and
another extension arm 134 on another side is in a higher plane
relative to the plane the base portion 131 located. The latch 13 is
mounted into the insulative housing 11 through the rear opening
1133 of the rear portion 1134 of the receiving room 113 along a
rear-to-front direction. The latch beams 132 are received into the
side recesses 1120, respectively. At least a portion of the latch
portions 133 projects into the front portion 1132 of the receiving
room 113. The latch portions 133 are arranged face to face along
the left-to-right direction.
[0026] The insulative member 14 together with the insulative
housing 11 fix the latch 13. The insulative member 14 includes a
base portion 140 made of insulative material, a pair of extension
portions 141 rearwardly extending from a rear end of the base
portion 140. The base portion 140 defines a plurality of through
holes 142 therethrough along a front-to-rear direction and arranged
in two rows apart from each other along the vertical direction, to
pass through the corresponding contacts 12, and a pair of mounting
holes 143 defined on the opposites sides of the base portion 140 to
pass through the extension arms 134. Each of the extension portions
141 defines an outward protruding sheet 1410 thereon. The dimension
of the base portion 140 along the vertical direction is greater
than the dimension of the insulative housing 11, thus when the
insulative member 14 is mounted on the insulative housing, the
insulative member 14 is exposed to the top wall 110 and bottom wall
111 of the insulative housing 11 along the vertical direction. The
insulative member 14 is mounted on the insulative housing 11 along
a rear-to-front direction, the extension arms 134 extending into
the mounting holes 143, the rear mating portions 122 of the
contacts 12 passing through the through holes 142. The base portion
140 defines a stuck slot 144.
[0027] The mating shell 15 has a closed circumference that has a
good seal performance, a good anti-EMI performance, etc. The closed
circumference of the mating shell 15 could be manufactured by
drawing a metal piece, bending a metal piece, casting metal
materials, etc. The mating shell 15 comprises a first front end 151
for being inserted into the mating connector, a first rear end 152
with a larger size than the first front end 151, and a first
transition portion 153 for connecting to the first front end 151
and the first rear end 152. The shape of the first rear end 152 is
consistent with the insulative member 14. A diametrical dimension
of the first front end 151 is smaller than a diametrical dimension
of the first rear end 152. The first rear end 152 comprises a pair
of latch tabs 1520 projecting outwardly to engage with the stuck
slot 144 of the insulative member 14.
[0028] The grounding members 16 is a pair, and mounted on the top
wall 110 and the bottom wall 111 of the insulative housing 11
respectively. Each of the grounding members 16 includes a main body
160, a pair of resilient sheets 161 extending towards to the
insulative housing 11 from the main body 160 and a grounding sheet
162 forwardly extending from a front end of the main body 160 to be
received in the first front portion 1132 of the receiving room 113.
The resilient sheets 161 and grounding sheet 162 are received in
the corresponding slots 114 of the insulative housing 11
respectively. The grounding sheets 162 are to mat with the mating
connector. The pair of grounding sheets 162 of the pair of
grounding members 16 is arranged face to face along the vertical
direction. The direction between the pair of grounding sheets 162
is greater than the direction between the front mating portions 121
of the upper row of contacts 12 and the front mating portions 121
of the lower row of contacts 12 along the vertical direction.
[0029] Referring to FIGS. 4 to 7, the printed circuit board 2 is
disposed between the mating member 1 and the cable 300, the cable
300 is electrically connected to the contacts 12 via the printed
circuit board 2. The printed circuit board 2 includes a front end
21, a rear end 22 disposed on a rear end thereof and a middle
portion 23 between the front end 21 and the rear end 22. The
printed circuit board 2 includes a top surface 24 and an opposite
bottom surface 25. A plurality of first conductive pads 210 are
defined on both of the top and bottom surface 24, 25 of the front
end 21, to be connected to the corresponding rear mating portions
122 of the contacts 12. A plurality of second conductive pads (not
shown) are defined on the top surface 24 of the rear end 22, to be
connected to the cable 300 electrically. The dimension of the front
end 21 is smaller than the dimension of the rear end 22 of the
printed circuit board 2. The light emitting elements 4 is mounted
on the middle portion 23. Both of the top surface 24 and the bottom
surface 25 are defines a pair of light emitting elements 4. Both of
the sides of the printed circuit board 2 are defines a light
emitting element 4. The pair of light emitting elements 4 on the
top surface 24 is symmetrical with the pair of light emitting
elements 4 on the bottom surface 25. Each of the top surface 24 and
the bottom surface 25 of the middle portion 23 defines a metal
sheet 26, to be soldered on the corresponding extension arms 134 of
the latch 13, for strengthening the fixation of the latch 13. The
front end 21 is disposed between the rear mating portions 122 of
the upper row of contacts 12 and the rear mating portions 122 of
the bottom row of contacts 12. The rear mating portions 122 are
connected with the corresponding first conductive pads 210
electrically. The portions of the printed circuit board 2, which
the light emitting element 4 mounted in, are inwardly recessed to
form a depression portion 27 thereon. The depression portions 27
make the light emitted by the corresponding light emitting element
4 be uniformly revealed from the electrical connector 200. The
depression portion 27 is U-shaped. The periphery of the light
emitting element 4 is aligned with the bottom edge of the U-shaped
depression portion 27.
[0030] The cable 300 has a number of wires 30 and a sheath 31 that
contains the wires 30.
[0031] In present embodiment, the light emitting elements 4 are
LEDs.
[0032] The fixing member 5 includes a main body 51, a pair of
fixing portions 52 forwardly extending along an inserting direction
from the both sides of the main body 5 respectively. The pair of
fixing portion 52 caught the rear end 22 of the printed circuit
board 2. The main body 51 of the fixing member 5 defines a
plurality of through holes 511 through a front surface and a rear
surface of the main body 51, for the wires 30 of the cable 300 to
through.
[0033] Referring particularly to FIGS. 4 and 5, the metal shell 6
includes a first shell 61 and a second shell 62 engaged with the
first shell 61. Both of the first shell 61 and the second shell 62
include a front portion 63 close to the mating member 1, a rear
portion 64 close to the cable 300 and a connecting portion 65 for
connecting the front portion 63 and the rear portion 64 wherein a
circumferential gap (not labeled) is formed between the front
portion 63 and the rear portion 64 in the front-to-back direction.
Each of the first shell 61 and the second shell 62 includes a
tongue sheet 66 extending from a front end of the front portion 63.
The pair of tongue sheets 66 is soldered on the first rear end 152
to be further fixed. The pair of tongue sheets 66 accordance with
other embodiment can be fixed on the first rear end 152 using glue
or other method. In the present embodiment, the second shell 62
defines a pair of holding portions 67 on the both sides of the
tongue sheet 66, to hold the first rear end 152. The holding
portions 67 are further fixed on the first rear end 152 by
soldering or other method. The connecting portion 65 is disposed
between the pair of light emitting element 4. The connecting
portion 65 is, viewed along a transverse direction, a groove
structure 651 connecting with the front portion 63 and rear portion
64 and inwardly recessed toward the printed circuit board 2. The
distance between the bottom surface of the groove 651 and the
printed circuit board 2 is smaller than the height of the light
emitting element 4 or equal to the height of the light emitting
element 4, thus the connecting portion 65 does not obstruct the
light emitted from the top surface of the light emitting element 4,
and can eliminate shadow and achieve a better light effect. It
other words, the groove structure 651 allows light emitted from the
light emitting element 4 to efficiently spread above the groove
structure for maximizing transmitting the light toward the light
transmissive region 81 without blocking. The length of the
connecting portion 65 along the inserting direction is greater than
the length of the light emitting element 4 along the inserting
direction, or equal to the length of the light emitting element 4.
In this embodiment, along the transverse direction the dimension of
the connecting portion is not more than one half of the dimension
of the printed circuit board 2 so as to provide sufficient exposed
portions in the gap. The both sides of the first shell 61 define a
fixing elastic sheet 611. The both sides of the second shell 612
define a holding through hole 621 for fixing the corresponding
fixing elastic sheet 611 therein. The fixing elastic sheets 611 are
fixed in the corresponding holding through holes 621 to fix the
first shell 61 with the second shell 62.
[0034] The outer case 8 is formed on the metal case 6 and a part of
the cable 300. The outer case 8 defines a light-transmissive region
81, which functions as a light waveguide, radially corresponding to
the circumferential gap between the front portion 63 and the rear
portion 64 to face the connecting portion 65 and two opaque regions
82 disposed on two sides of the light-transmissive region 81. The
light emitted by the light emitting element 4 through the
light-transmissive region 81 to form a continuous aperture. The
opaque regions 82 are set to dark, such as black, to achieve a
better shading effect.
[0035] In assembling the cable connector assembly 100, firstly, the
mating member 1 and printed circuit board 2 are provided. The light
emitting elements 4 are mounted on the top and bottom surface 24,
25 of the printed circuit board 2. The printed circuit board 2 is
inserted into the rear end of the mating member 1. The extension
arms 134 of the latch 13 are soldered on the corresponding metal
sheets 26 of the printed circuit board 2. The cable 300 is further
provided. The wires 30 of the cable 300 are soldered on the
corresponding second conductive pads (not shown) on the rear end 22
of the printed circuit board 2. The metal shell 6 is engaged along
a top-to-bottom direction to enclose the printed circuit board 2,
exposing the light emitting element 4. The first shell 61 is fixed
with the second shell 62 by the engagement of the fixing elastic
sheets 611 and the corresponding holding holes 621. The holding
portion 67 and the tongue sheet 65 are soldered on the first rear
end 152 respectively. The strain relief 7 is molded on a part of
the metal shell 6. The outer case 8 is mounted on a front end of
the metal shell 6 and the strain relief 7 along a front-to-rear
direction. The outer case 8 is fixed by glue or other method. Thus,
the cable connector assembly 100 is completed. The order of
assembly of the cable connector assembly 100 is not unique, art can
make adaptation according to installation requirements.
* * * * *